An aquarium as an aquatic life exhibit apparatus has long been popular in homes and offices by reason of the wide variation of aquatic life that is possible to be displayed therein. Recently modern designs have introduced new plastic aquariums of intriguing shapes and configurations. Unfortunately, these novel designs have used established methods of construction, lighting, heating, and filtration. Consequently no thought has been given to the accessibility to the bottom of the aquarium. For example, once fish and plants are introduced into a tall (greater than an arm's length in depth) aquarium, for all practical purposes they are not accessible until the water is drained or poured out. A dead fish can be removed from the bottom only with great difficulty. Further, aesthetic arrangement of the elements on the bottom of the aquarium is equally difficult.
In tall aquariums no thought has been given to cleaning algae from aquarium walls. When these aquariums need cleaning, the solid contents must be poured out of the top of the aquarium. This is cumbersome and can damage the viewing area and cause harm to fish and plant life.
We have invented an internal accessory which eliminates these problems.
An object of this present invention is to provide a free-standing filtration system which conforms to the shape of the aquarium, serves as the bottom of the aquarium, and can be easily made to float to the top.
Another object of this present invention is to provide a complementary filtration unit which contains the heating and lighting device and can be easily removed and replaced and also cleans the walls of the aquarium while being easily removed and replaced.
Another object of this invention is to provide containerized filtration, heating, lighting and aesthetics for easy manipulation and maintenance.
In accordance with these and other objects, there is provided by the present invention a structure for containing gravel (filtration medium) which structure contains a pocket that collects and channels air from the aquarium base through the aeration/filtration exit, causing the aquarium water to circulate through the gravel and a sponge. When the aeration/filtration exit is plugged the pocket fills with air, thus causing the container to float. This container is made of acrylic or other clear plastic to display the gravel and other aesthetic ornaments while remaining almost invisible in the water.
The complementary filtration unit is a sponge sandwiched between two rigid plastic sheets which acts as a level (flat) foundation on which the floating structure sits and provides a tight semipermeable seal against the aquarium walls, thus trapping particulate matter which circumvents the gravel filter. The complementary unit contains the lighting and heating elements and scrubs algae from the aquarium walls when it is removed and replaced.